Xabi Alonso has left Real Madrid by mutual consent following their 3-2 defeat by Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
The club confirmed the decision on Monday evening.
A statement read: “Real Madrid CF announces that, by mutual agreement between the club and Xabi Alonso, it has been decided to end his time as first team coach.
“Xabi Alonso will always have the affection and admiration of all Madrid fans because he is a Real Madrid legend and has always represented the values of our club. Real Madrid will always be his home.
“Our club thanks Xabi Alonso and his entire technical team for their work and dedication during this time, and wishes them the best of luck in this new stage of their lives.”
Former Real defender Alvaro Arbeloa, who played with Alonso at both Liverpool and Madrid, takes over the reins, the club has confirmed.
Arbeloa is currently the manager of Real’s ‘Castilla’ youth side, but has been immediately promoted to replace his ex-team-mate.
Real face Albacete in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday before hosting Levante in the league at the weekend.
Another statement released on Monday read: “Real Madrid CF announces that Alvaro Arbeloa is the new first-team coach.
“Alvaro Arbeloa has been the manager of Castilla since June 2025, and has spent his entire coaching career in Real Madrid's youth academy since 2020. He managed the Infantil A team in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, the Cadete A team in 2021-2022, and the Juvenil A team from 2022 to 2025. As Juvenil A manager, he achieved the treble in 2022-2023 (League, Copa del Rey, and Champions Cup) and the league title in the 2024-2025 season.
“As a player, Arbeloa was part of Real Madrid during one of the most successful periods in its history. He wore our shirt between 2009 and 2016, making 238 official appearances. During that time, he won eight titles: two Champions Leagues, one Club World Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one La Liga title, two Copa del Rey trophies, and one Spanish Super Cup.
“With the Spanish national team, Álvaro Arbeloa was also part of a historic era, winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and two European Championships (2008 and 2012). He earned 56 caps for Spain.”
Los Blancos were beaten by their rivals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in dramatic circumstances on Sunday night, with three goals scored in first-half stoppage time.
Raphinha opened the scoring on 36 minutes, before Vinicius Junior equalised two minutes into injury time.
Robert Lewandowski re-established Barca’s lead, before Gonzalo Garcia cancelled that out in the 51st minute.
It was Raphinha who netted the winning goal - the only strike of the second half - in what would be the final goal that Madrid would concede under Alonso.
The Spaniard arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu ahead of the Club World Cup to great fanfare after his stellar work at Bayer Leverkusen, where he won Die Werkself’s maiden Bundesliga title back in 2023, going the whole season unbeaten.
Bayern Munich wrestled the crown back off them the following campaign before Alonso moved to the Spanish capital.
Real were thrashed 4-0 in the semi-finals by Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup, and find themselves four points adrift of Barca at the top of La Liga.
Tensions have been bubbling at the Bernabeu all season, with many reporting that Alonso had a strained relationship with many key players.
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